Jonathan Swift (Swift Jonathan)

(1667-1745) Born November 30, 1667 in Dublin in the English family. Swift's father died before his son's birth and upbringing of Jonathan was engaged by his uncle, Godwin Swift. Swift received the best available in Ireland at that time education - first in the county of Kilkenny School, then in Dublin's Trinity College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1686. The explosion of violence which swept Ireland in 1689, Swift forced to seek asylum in England. By the end of that year, Swift became secretary to Sir William Temple, a retired diplomat and writer, who lived at Moor Park in Surrey. Swift remained in this position until the death of Sir William in January 1699. During one of his absences from Moore Park, in 1695, Swift was ordained a priest of the Anglican Church and the entire following year he served in Kilrute in the north of Ireland. By the end of this period of life Swift almost finished one of his famous satirical works, "Tales of barrels (A Tale of A Tub, 1704).

Tale barrel was published without specifying a name and caused a lot of noise, fixing for Swift fame wit, after his authorship was disclosed. Many of his works directly to put stirring society issues. In his first pamphlet of discord and strife in Athens and Rome (The Contests and Dissentions at Athens and Rome, 1701) Swift made a theory about the proper balance between the Crown and both Houses of Parliament. Equally clearly sounded Considerations Anglican churchman (Sentiments of a Church of England Man)

. In political views (which was a testimony to his pamphlets) as well as in their party attachments, Swift remained very close to the Whigs, and it was as caustic Whig and writer Addison and Steele brought him to participate in the magazine 'Tatler'. Swift, however, soon felt that the government Whig is not for the benefit of the Anglican Church, so when in 1710 the Tories came to power, Swift went over to their side. The government appealed the Tories with such a powerful tool, as a gift of a political writer, more skillfully than the leaders of the Whigs, and entrusted him with his magazine 'Examiner'.

In articles published in the 'Examiner', and in such pamphlets as an ally (The Conduct of the Allies, 1711), Swift defends Tories and provides powerful support for the steps the government aimed to end the war with France. The reward for this was his appointment in 1713 the rector (dean), the Cathedral of St.. Patrick's in Dublin - Encouraging generous, although he hoped for a bishopric or in place of the rector of the parish in England. Troubles of these years, along with details of his daily life vividly depicted in the Journal for Stella (Journal to Stella) - collection of letters addressed to Esther Johnson and her companion Rebecca Dingley. With the two ladies met Swift at Moor Park, but in early 1710 they lived in Dublin.

After the death of Queen Anne and the Whigs returned to power, Swift went to Ireland, where, apart from two brief visits to England, remained until the end of life. For a time he lived in seclusion in Dublin, but in 1720 again became interested in public affairs. Publication of letters draper (Drapier's Letters, 1724) with a furious attack on a number of financial measures that are going to be in Ireland, the Government R. Walpole, Swift has established itself as the aspirations of the Irish people. In other pamphlets - sometimes simple-minded worldly, sometimes sharply satiric, like A Modest Proposal (A Modest Proposal, 1729) - he reveals the social and economic distress, tormented Ireland in 18 in. In 1720-1736, many written in his best poems, the same idea of the book Gulliver's Travels (Gulliver's Travels) was embodied in the years immediately preceding its publication in 1726.

Swift Died Oct. 19, 1745.

As publicist Swift has few equals in the history of English literature. Its success is partly due to his prose style, which he possessed a masterly. He was lucky with time: he lived in an era when the language of the left quaintness ranneangliyskoy prose, and at the same time, the language of his time - not a smooth, groomed it stylists 18. Swift's prose is not to push themselves - it is always a strong, direct, clear and very powerful statement on the chosen topic. Thus, in the 'Examiner', we see every day changing the tone of his remarks - depending on the subject under discussion - and in a letter draper, he fit in style to those social groups who wish to offend with this work. As a propagandist and agitator Swift had no rival in his lifetime, remaining to this day one of the greatest masters of literature of this kind.

Satirical prose - his most important achievement. Like all true satirists, JonathanSwift - above all a moralist, exposes the fallacy and folly of mankind in the name of virtue and common sense.

At first glance, Gulliver's Travels - a tale of amusing adventures, a book for children. In fact, this is a profound satire: JonathanSwift shows the folly of people and thus responsive to the socio-political situation in England 18. First Gulliver falls into the Lilliputians country dwarfs. Political strife, court intrigue, petty envy the inhabitants of Lilliput look particularly ridiculous in such a miniature society. Then he visits Brobdingneg, a country of huge, like the towers, giants. When he praises in front of them England, it amuse them, just as his vanity amused Lilliputians. In the course of his third voyage Gulliver visits the flying island of Laputa (Island of Magicians) and land Struldbrugov. The peoples of these countries have reached the limits of academic pedantry and literary literalism, an utterly distorted the story, endlessly rewriting it, have known curse if so desired immortality. Finally, Gulliver travels to the country guigngnmov, . ruled by the noble and highly intelligent horses, . which serves yehu, . bestial creation in human form, . so humble, . their appearance, . as behavior, . once again indicate, . how low can a man fall, . if he let passions dominate over reason.,